A COVERT OPERATION UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS

Under the cover of darkness I quietly moved my darkened van into position at the side of the street & shut off the motor. In the back were 3 large boxes containing 50 objects that had to be hastily deployed before drawing any attention from the nearby houses. This was not an easy mission because 2 metal rods had to be affixed to each object & the holes for the rods did not match. The rods then had to be carefully pushed into the ground. But, there was no turning back. Two days earlier I had received a telephone call from a shadowy figure in Nova Scotia who was in need of help. She outlined her plan & said it was imperative that this mission be executed late Sunday night. She said, "this is your mission Al, can you handle it?" I ran it through my cranium & immediately thought, no this is not something I can do, so, I quickly said to her, "yes, I'm the right guy for the job!!" I code named the mission, Kayakattack, after the person who had called. Took me 40 minutes to deploy all objects, one at a time, being careful not to leave any metal rods laying on the ground. Didn't want anyone injured if possible!! Turns out not all the rods had been shipped so I had to carefully place some of the objects in trees & shrubs. At one point I detected cigarette smoke in the air so quickly launched a night vision scan (I have excellent night vision) & immediately detected a dark figure standing beside a vehicle about two hundred yards away. I deployed 2 objects into the ground & re-scanned. The figure was gone but I knew it was not a threat. Someone down the street had just slipped outside for a smoke & then wisely slipped back into their house. Minutes later I hooked the wires to the last object & strategically placed it near a darkened window. Within seconds I was back in the van & rolling with lights out. Two minutes after that I was home & silently slipped into the driveway. Well, not silently enough for our 3 super watch dog guys because they immediately sensed an intruder & let out a big barking uproar which probably woke up every neighbor for about a mile around. So much for my super stealthy covert operation....................................

Now, here's the rest of the story:))
The phone call from Nova Scotia was from my friend Bruce's daughter. Bruce's Birthday was Monday & she wondered if I could pick up 50 pink Flamingos at a store in Goderich (Balloons To You) Saturday afternoon & put them all over Bruce's lawn late Sunday night. Kelly swung around that way this afternoon & took a few drive by pictures of my shenanigans the night before. I would have gone down & took the pictures myself but I didn't want Bruce chasing me down the street shouting loud obscenities & throwing pink Flamingos at me. Could have been most embarrassing seeing two old guys running down the road under duress with pink Flamingos flying through the air!!
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TRYING TO REMAIN POSITIVE IN A WORLD OF FINANCIAL INSANITY

The day started out with a cold rain falling from dark overcast & gray skies. Figured it was a fitting day to go talk to our financial advisor. With the last few weeks & especially these past few days of economic insanity & the fact that our money is disappearing faster than a cold case of beer amongst a sweaty gang of construction workers on a hot summer day we figured we might as well hear about our own financial demise from a man who occassionally deals in such matters. Our money guy advisor spent an hour & half with us answering concerned questions & taking the time to explain everything. Lots of charts & graphs, lots of optimism on his part & of course, lots of pessimism on my part. Good news confirmed that two thirds of our investments are insured, although it may take until 2017 to recover that in a worse case scenario. I understood the words, "worse case scenario" because now he was talking about the world I generally live in. My mind normally gravitates to that geographic area whenever in doubt. Kelly had done her homework well & of course had all the right questions to ask. I'm glad she understands all that financial mumbo jumbo because the only question I probably would have had for the man was, "got any doughnuts?"
We did leave his office feeling better than when we went in & if we're careful we just might make it to the end of this wild roller coaster adventure & step off this whacky ride on the positive side of things.....eventually. In the meantime we're still hoping to continue with our Nov. 15 travel plans to the southwest. Wish us luck...............and send doughnuts:))
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FINALLY GOT ME SOME GOOD GRIPTION!!

In the photo above you see the soles of 2 different pieces of footwear. The worn tread of my favorite Rockport's & the cool super tread design of my new Merrell hikers. I bought those Rockport's in the Ellenton Mall just north of Sarasota Florida back in the late 90's. Most comfortable shoes I have ever owned so have worn them absolutely everywhere for years. The shoes are still in good shape except for the worn tread. Well, it was in those Rockport's that I did all our hiking & rock scrambling last winter in the Southwest. Despite a bunch of slips & slides on the rocky mountain trails I was stubborn about not giving up my very much most favorite pair of shoes regardless of the obvious perils they presented. Have you ever had that happen to you? Get something you really like, such as a pair of jeans, type of shirt or jacket, maybe a favorite coat. Doesn't matter how cold it is out, you just gotta wear your favorite coat despite freezing your shorts off. Well, same thing with footwear. A good old pair of shoes or boots is like a couple of good old buddies you've had forever. Just not going to toss those old pals over for some fancy new upstarts. Nossireee!! Well, so it was with my old Rockports. Figured I'd get another 10 years out of them I guess. But, even old stubborn cursmudgeons like myself sometimes reach the point where ya just gotta give yer "smarts" a shake. It was only a question of time before I was going to take a big header down a rocky slope somewhere & end up with some busted stuff. Don't care much for that pain feeling so said to Kelly last week, "dya think maybe I should think about getting some better footwear before we head south this year." Well, she had me in the car so fast & on the way to Wuerth's shoe store in Goderich, that I'm still suffering whiplash 5 days later!! Now, that gal knows her footwear & within about 5 minutes Kelly & the clerk had a pair of Merrell Vibram Polartec mid-size lite hiking boots strapped to my feet & convinced me that with all the gription on these boots I could walk right straight up the wall, across the ceiling, & right down the other side......which of course I proceeded to do:)) Yep, that gal knows her footwear alright.
Ok, lets go find us a rocky mountain trail............Ya-hooey Louie!! Our handyman friend Bruce finished up the final stage of our television renovation project in the motorhome last week. Pictures show where the last section was fitted in place to cover the hole where the old heavy analog television used to be. Much better view out the front now with that big blonky television cabinet out of the way. Gives us some extra storage up there too.

We'll put a push on this week for getting the rig loaded despite our departure date being well over a month away. Want to get the bulk of everything loaded while the sunny days are still with us. By mid to late October things will begin to fall apart very quickly in the weather department as we move towards November. November can easily be the most miserable month of the entire year. Prolonged cold, gray, & rainy days. All of the vegetation is off the trees as their stark, bleak, branches twist in the frigid gusting winds of sullen & somber November skies. There is nothing nice about November.......NOTHING!!
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DEPARTURE DATE.....NOVEMBER 15/08

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Looks like November 15th will be our launch date for this year. Kelly's place of employment, Deerpark Lodge, will be closing for the winter during the week of November 10th to 14th. Deerpark will be open the previous week-end for Bayfield's annual & final big event of the season, called, Christmas In Bayfield. It's a popular week-end with people coming from near & far. All the shops are open & there is a Saturday morning parade through town. We will head out of town the following week-end. I generally like to leave early on a Saturday morning because it gives us a 2 day head start on a lot of rush hour traffic nonsense south of the border. We'll cross into the States at Port Huron (& probably get pulled over for an agriculture check again) & follow I-69 down through Flint & Lansing. Into the State of Indiana & through Fort Wayne stopping somewhere north of Indianapolis for the first night. We'll do Indy bright & early Sunday morning & then head southwest on I-70 to Effingham. From there it's I-57 south to Missouri where we'll pick up I-55 into Arkansas. Just west of Memphis, Tennessee we'll pick up I-40 & that begins our true journey west, sliding through places like Little Rock & Texarkana. Texarkana launches us into the big State of Texas & from there we'll pick our way north of Dallas through Sherman & Gainesville until we pick up highway # 380 somewhere around Jacksboro. Once we're on # 380 it's a quiet straight line level drive to just west of Roswell, New Mexico whereupon we'll slip up & over the southern end of the Rocky mountains. We came home this way last year & found it an easy mountain drive compared to Denver for example. No big scary stuff!! Would like to stop at White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo this time & have a look around. Over another small mountain range & we'll be in Las Cruces, New Mexico. From here it's anybody's guess where we'll go because the rush is over & we'll just go wherever feels right, whenever we feel were ready. Most likely will head up into the Silver City area for starters. As I read this all over, it looks good on paper but as some reader's already know, we don't always stick to the paper. I remember one time near Joplin, Missouri we were heading west with a rough travel plan in mind & at the last minute I decided to take a different route & wheeled us off the Interstate heading south & that little venture eventually landed us lost on some twisting back roads in the Ozark mountains. That was an interesting afternoon to say the least. We were driving a small Class C on that trip. Another time I figured out another quick last minute short cut in my head & landed us in the Boston Mountain range in Arkansas huffing & puffing our truck & fifth wheel at the time up & over the long graded mountain tops. Another nail biter for awhile but did get to see some great scenery again. Every twist & turn is a new adventure & if we keep that foremost in our minds we sort of get along just fine in our travels.

I will call the above, travel Plan A. Depending on what happens with the screwy economy right now, we may be forced to revert to Plan B in the end. That would be a gas saving shorter trip into Texas & the Big Hill Country or Big Bend National Park area. YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT PLAN C!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The photos I've included to-day are mushrooms growing all around us in our little pine forest here. It's been a damp year & we've had a lot of rain lately so I figure that is why there are so many this year. Don't know what kind they are but they sure do look pretty. Some of the them are sorta like Pizza's on stems.........

HERE'S MY NEW BESTEST BUDDY MUG

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Phone rang around noon this past Thursday & it was my old former Town & Country Boss, Marie, saying she was headed out our way & would I be home for a few minutes. "Sure," I said, "Come on over." Marie had been the very busy, dedicated, & very efficient dispatcher co-coordinator person at the company where I am still a part time mobility van driver. I used to be a full time driver there until we started going south for the winters & am now just part time in the spring, summer, & fall. Marie had been a great boss for the past 4 & a half years & we worked well to-gether. About 3 years ago Kelly & I gave Marie a big "Teamwork" coffee mug for Christmas & it always sat on her busy desk between daily coffee runs to the office's coffee machine.
Back in the spring of this year Marie left Town & Country but we have kept in touch since then & it was nice of her to drop in. She has followed our Bayfield Bunch blog adventures over the past year & read the blog about me losing my old best coffee cup buddy a few weeks ago. Before leaving Thursday Marie reached in her purse & pulled out a very familiar looking coffee mug. It was the "Teamwork" mug Kelly & I had given her for Christmas years ago. She said, "and here's your newest best buddy." What a sweet thought from such a sweet person. I noticed a folded piece of paper in the mug but didn't open it until after Marie had left. I couldn't take a chance on getting all emotional you know, just in case there was something nice written on that piece of paper. (women have a natural habit of doing things like that) We men have a bad habit of keeping up phony appearances sometimes & I'm sure no exception. Well, there was something nice written on that note & I have decided to share those thoughts...............
Thanks Marie, & I never even thought to give you a big hug:((
Men huh!! (click the photos to make them bigger)

TAOIST TAI CHI.....A GREAT EXERCISE PROGRAM

I remember a few years ago when I was first started a 4 month Taoist Tai Chi class over in St. Marys Ontario, a fellow student asked the instructor, "Is it possible to defend yourself if you know how to do Tai Chi?" The instructor replied, "yes, as long as the person attacking you does so in slow motion." And so I have begun my 4th Tai Chi beginner's class in the last 8 years. I have successfully completed 2 of those classes learning all 108 moves but each time I didn't pursue the advanced classes due to work schedules, a move, & lack of discipline on my part. And each time when I wanted to pursue Tai Chi again I had to start all over right from the beginning because the lapses between classes was too long & my memory too short.
Tai Chi has finally come to Bayfield & the beginner's class started on a Wednesday morning in the old town hall a couple weeks ago. It's a shorter course this time covering only the first 17 moves over 16 weeks but for me starting out again that's just fine. By the time the classes end around the end of October we'll be about ready to head south again anyway so I will miss any classes after October if there are any. Looks like another beginner's class start up for me in the spring again unless I can keep up the routine on my own for the 5 months we are away. Guess I got my work cut out for me. Several instructors have told me I'm a natural at it & have encouraged me to pursue it further but I just don't seem to be a dedicated person. And, it takes a lot of time & dedication to make it to even the first instructor level. I did make it to "helper" level in St. Marys one time but we moved to Bayfield a few weeks later & I never went any further with it. Kelly says I'm a natural alright.........a natural complainer:((
Taoist Tai Chi (Taoist is pronounced Daoist like Dow-est) is a totally excellent form of exercise for both mind & body & you can read about it here...http://www.taoist.org/content/standard.asp A perfect stretching & balance program for Seniors (or aging Hippies) that also focuses on improving one's memory. I highly recommend it.
Ok, time to go practice a few moves & maybe fall over a couple times & mess up the cob webs in my brain again............. HAAAAA-CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
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AND IT CRANKED, & CRANKED, & CRANKED!!

Well, I guess I didn't quite get off as lucky as I thought I did with that diesel fuel in the motorcycle tank episode a few weeks ago. Bike has been running perfect but when I went out to start it Saturday morning it just cranked & cranked & cranked, but wouldn't fire. Pulled out 2 of the 4 plugs & they were greasy looking & fouled. It took awhile but that little bit of diesel fuel left in the tank that day eventually fouled the spark plugs. Long story short....... Going to have the fellas at the Goderich Power Centre pick up the bike Monday & take it to their shop & flush the gas tank, clean the carburetors, & put in new plugs. That should do the trick & I should be able to get in a few more rides before the weather sets in next month. Bike is 6 years old so probably time to clean those carbs anyway.

The new, & finally correct odometer/speedometer assembly is back in the dash of the motorhome & working fine. And, amazingly enough, thanks to Kelly's persistence, UPS is actually refunding us a fair chunk of change for some shipping charges mistakes. Geeeezzz, will the good news ever stop!! I few weeks ago I closed a bin door on the motorhome a little too hard & broke a piece of the mechanism inside which left the door in a locked state. Fortunately I discovered the problem when I took the rig down to the Bayfield Garage to get the propane tank filled. Luckily a mechanic came out & within a few minutes had the door unlocked. Well, it was back on the computer & phone again to Elkhart, Indiana to order a new door lock assembly from a Damon dealer down there called, True Value RV. This is a good place & within days UPS rolled in the driveway with the new part. Now here's the really strange thing. I was able to take the old assembly out, figure out the new part & actually re-install the whole thing correctly. But, that's not the strangest part........it worked!! It really did, it actually worked. Walked immediately to the end of driveway & peered up through the pine trees to see if there were 2 moons in the sky.....and of course there were. I'm still gloating over that unusual accomplishment so the tip for to-day is.......don't slam your bin doors!!
Who knows, to-day a lock assembly installer, to-morrow a rocket scientist. Hey, who said it couldn't happen. We took our Hyundai Santa Fe in a couple of weeks ago for it's annual tune up so it's now ready for the trip south. Hope I can remember how to assemble all that tow bar stuff. I figure the key to a Senior's memory success is repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, & it's been about 6 & a half months since I worked with all that tow bar stuff so no doubt I'll have to get the instruction manual out again to see what bar goes where & what chain hooks up to who. Oh boy, wait until I try setting up that tri-pod internet satellite system again. That oughta turn the air blue for a few miles around!! Good thing that the Bayfield Bunch has Kelly on it's team. She's got the most good brains for everything & if it wasn't for her I'd still be back at Sandbox 101.

Ok, nuff said for to-night. You people got better things to do than sit here reading this stuff............................ :))
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TO-DAY'S BLOG IS ABOUT CAMERAS

To-day's blog is about cameras, but first I'd like to comment on yesterday's blog. After tuning into all the financial doom & gloom on CNN yesterday morning I checked out our financial investments on the computer & of course we had taken a big hit overnight. I should have walked away from the computer right there & gone out & did some gardening or something but instead I heated up the keys & vented some anger & frustration. Debated later in the day whether I should go back & delete that blog but decided to let it ride. Life isn't always a bowl of cherries. Sometimes in my blog I express happy feelings, sometimes sad, sometimes I see the positive side & sometimes it just turns out to be one of those days that you can't win for losing. Yesterday was a flash of anger & frustration first thing in the morning. Guess that is what makes me a human being. Happy to say the day quickly improved & it was on to bigger & better things. We'll be just fine & are proceeding full steam ahead with our "heading west" plans. And, my apologies to Florida. Your a good State:) Thanks to Don, Pat, & Tom for your encouraging words yesterday. Ok, moving on...............................

Over these past few years I have taken many photos of our travels here & there, plus pictures from around our house & our area. Because of those photos I have received some favorable comments, not only on the blog but on other forums I belong to. People have asked how I do some of those nice photos & my answer to that is always the same. I am not a professional photographer & my photos are not on that higher quality level. I think of myself as simply an advanced amateur who is fortunate enough to have some reasonably good camera gear. I use a very simple photo program on the computer as well. The photo program is a free download & anyone can use it to make their pictures better.

First, the camera gear. I have 2 Nikon DSLR's & a smaller point & shoot Canon camera. My Nikon D40 carries a Nikkor 55-200mm f4-5.6 telephoto zoom lens & my Nikon D50 carries a Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 wide angle zoom lens. I am hoping to add one more lens to complete my set up which will be a Nikkor 70-300mm f4-5.6 telephoto zoom. Not the most expensive or highest quality camera models or lenses in the Nikon lineup, but they work fine for me. My smaller carry along camera is a Canon A720iS which also is a great little camera & right up there with it's 2 bigger Nikon step-brothers. Before the Canon I had a Fuji E535 which also was a super great camera but it was stolen by some lowlife in Stratford.

The photo program I use on the computer is Google's Picasa. It's a free download & is very easy to use. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be using it. You can sharpen your photos, add contrast, lighten them, straighten your horizons, crop the image, eliminate red eye, enhance the colors, add a soft focus look, switch color to black & white or sepia, invert colors, plus a bunch of other little photo tips & tricks. You can download Picasa 3 here...http://picasa.google.com/
Picasa also has a sister program called Picasa Web Albums which also is a free download. Once you have your photos organized, edited, captioned, & fixed up the way you want them it is only a few more clicks to upload them into the Picasa Web Album program. Once there, they are safe in case your hard drive ever crashes someday.

A few photo tips......
-if it's a cloudy day, minimize the sky or eliminate it totally & look for shots on the ground
-if it's a pretty sky with big fluffy clouds, include more sky in your pics
-avoid putting your subject in the center of the picture
-try to include something in the foreground
-best moods & colors are in the morning around sunrise & shortly thereafter
-cropping is one of the best tools in your photoshop
-don't worry about all those dials on your camera, just set it to automatic & away you go.
-watch out for harsh shadows on bright sunny days
-try not to put horizon lines exactly in the middle of the photo & if you have a tilted horizon you can easily fix that in your Picasa photo program by clicking on the, "straighten" button.

For those of us coming out of the old 35mm film age with all it's inherent problems, the digital age has made a good photographer out of everybody, so grab your camera & get out there.................OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

To-day's photos were taken with Kelly's Canon Powershot A430..... another nice little camera:)

OK, HERE'S MY 2 CENTS WORTH THIS MORNING!!!!

Like the words of that western song years ago, "sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. Last week we were ahead of the game happily loading the motorhome with summer clothes, hiking footwear, bicycle accessories, etc & this week after the big crash on Wall Street we are sitting here dejectedly having to re-consider our whole winter get-away. Last week was a winner & this week has been a loser:(( Like thousands & thousands of other people we are having to re-consider our future plans right now. Both short term & long term. A week ago we were on track & this week the economy has shaken our train right off the rails. If the investment funds continue their rapid decline we will probably be forced to sit in the house all winter long staring blankly out the window at mounds of snow, icy winds, numbing cold temperatures & gray skies. We could cut our gas expenses in half by going to Florida but the thoughts of being stuck in a crammed & crowded way overpriced RV park for 6 months is worse than staying here for the winter. And the thoughts of being gouged by the rest of the tourist market down there is not an option either. We are equipped for boondocking in the vast free & expansive areas of New Mexico, Arizona, & California so if we can't do that we might just end up staying in Canada this winter. What a horrible thought!!!! For people who have never been to the American southwest it may be difficult to understand my thinking & the difference between there & the American southeast. South is south, right?? Wrong!! But, for all the travelers out there in the southwest or heading for the southwest, you know exactly what I'm talking about here. But, enough already because it looks like I've got myself off on a real good rant this morning again & I suppose it's just the frustration coming out because of recent developments south of the border. And don't let me get started about the GREED that has caused this whole economic mess either!!!! That's another whole story so I had better get myself away from the keyboard while the gettins good!!

It's a beautiful sunny morning in southwest Ontario & the prettiest time of the year is only weeks away. Gonna go outside & work on my attitude & hey, maybe I can get myself straightened out enough to optimistically start loading a few more things in the motorhome again............... just in case. Do ya think:))
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ODE TO MY COFFEE CUP

It happened so quickly, & my old friend was gone. In a hurry, coffee in hand, I headed out the back door to-day to see what the doggy guys were barking at. Not wanting to put my coffee pal in harm's way I reached out to set him on the deck railing whilst I headed down the steps to do battle with what was probably a chipmunk making faces at little Cora. It was the "thunk" behind me & the tell tale sounds of breaking pottery that reached my ears before my brain did. I knew instantly, my favorite coffee cup had just bit the dust. No point in even looking back as I continued out into the back yard to have words with the furry cast of noisy characters. It was good I had something to focus on for a few minutes before returning to....pick up the pieces:((

My old friend & I first met in the Apache Canyon Trading Post near the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico back on December 22, 2006. The Bayfield Bunch had stopped in to have a look around after exploring the Carlsbad Caverns earlier in the day. I'm not much for hanging around in gift shops too long so after a quick amble through the place I was headed back for the door when I spotted him sitting quietly with a bunch of his brightly painted pottery friends on a shelf by the window.

He had a tanned adobe look with colorful markings & a name that read, New Mexico. And I liked his black glazed interior. A handsome devil indeed. I knew right away we were made for each other as I gently lifted him up off the shelf & headed for the counter. It was the beginning of a friendship that would last nearly 2 years with many memorable moments spent to-gether, relaxing hand in hand. Sometimes beside me as we enjoyed many desert campfires, sometimes riding for endless miles up on the dash of the motorhome scouting the way ahead. There were times he helped me outside in my various projects around home, & other times rode with me to work. Occasionally he went missing for a day or two until I was able to locate him again sitting on a stump in the garden or a rock out in the yard someplace, just where I had carelessly left him. But most often as not, he was right here on my desk beside the computer as I plunked away at the dusty keys day after day.

I will glue him back to-gether & then set him on a shelf near my bed where he will remain a fond memory of many, many, happy days gone by...............................

I am going to miss my old traveling buddy. I am going to miss him a lot:(((((

In 3 of the photos you can see me & my old porcelain pal to-gether. Apache Canyon photo taken near Carlsbad, New Mexico 06. Two center photos taken at Pancho Villa State Park in New Mexico in December of 06. Last photo was taken just west of Ajo, Arizona in the Darby Wells road area in January of 08.........

BEGINNING TO ORGANIZE THE RIG FOR THIS WINTER'S TRIP

Almost the middle of September so I figure we've got about 5 maybe 6 weeks of good weather left if we're lucky. Figured it was time while the weather is good to start organizing the bins in the motorhome & getting things squared away for this winter's trip. I have all the bin doors numbered & keep an inventory of what is in where & in which bin. If I don't write it down, things sorta get lost forever. Not a foolproof system but it kinda works for me. Hooked the water up & no leaks anywhere. Amazing!! The photo is me listing some items I had just put in the bin.
Looking back, it was one year ago in September that I first started this blog, so it's a big thanks to all the people dropping in on us, that it's still going:))
Hey, just noticed...........thanks for the shoutbox messages Hermit & Tom. Always great to hear from people:))

TRYING OUT A "SHOUTBOX"

Am trying out something new on the site called a "Shoutbox." It's located in the right hand column not too far from the top. Anyone can leave a message or comment here for the Bayfield Bunch. A lot easier than the Guestbook for sure. And you don't have to leave your email addy or anything. If you have a minute, say hello. Thanks Helen for the first message...........now I know it works:))

TRYING OUT SOME NEW COLORS FOR THE BLOG

Personally, I like the dark colored backgrounds but some readers have said they find it hard on the eyes for any length of time. And, some of my blogs can get a bit lengthy. Photos look better against a black background so that was probably one of my original ideas for doing that. However, there is much more dialogue than pictures so it's only logical to put the priority on the written word. But a white background....never!! I may change this color scheme a bit as we go along. We'll see how it goes................................

2 NEW WINDSHIELD WIPERS PLEASE.....WHAT!!!!

It was time to take the motorhome in for it's pre-trip inspection & tune-up last week. The windshield wipers were totally worn out, plugs were still original, needed a broken muffler hanger fixed amongst other things. That hanger had broken in Arizona last year & I had it wired up with about 2.4 miles of clothesline wire. I have a tendency to over-do things you know. Probably half the labor cost was for the mechanic cutting all that wire off. The bill for the tune up was about what I was worried it would be, but the real kicker was the price of 2 windshield wiper blades. Yes, they are 29 inch blades & specially made for that type of windshield I guess, but we were all flabbergasted at the price, including the people at the garage. $137.00 for 2 blades!!!! Guess that didn't make 8 spark plugs for S104.00 seem so bad. They are Iridium plugs which Google tells me is, "One of the world's finest spark plugs. The result are spark plugs that require less voltage to spark, burns fuel more efficiently, sparks at leaner air/fuel mixtures, and delivers higher horsepower and better gas mileage."
Well, I sure hope the engine appreciates all this pampering & the windshield understands it's being wiped clean by the finest of blades!! Maybe the tailpipe will even feel better now knowing it's not so wired!!
We sure had a go-around with the Actia company in Elkhart, Indiana who are the makers of speedometer/odometer clusters for motorhomes. There has been a software problem for quite awhile in their computer versioned set-ups. The cluster in our motorhome was originally replaced back in 2005. The software goes & the LED read-out becomes unreadable. You lose your mileage, trip meter, fuel calculations, oil & transmission pressures, etc. It does a lot more calculations, engine updates, & reminders but do I really need it to tell me when my next colonoscopy appointment is. I think not!!
We phoned Actia about the odometer problem & they said it would not be covered under warranty & would cost us $354 for another cluster. They sent us a form to fill out regarding mileage on the coach. We then had to get the form signed by a mechanic to verify we weren't shysters & the actual mileage was accurate. They then program that mileage into the new cluster before shipping it out to us. The cluster was sent by UPS courier which cost us another $107.00 because of tax stuff at the border + courier costs. We had wrongly assumed they would have sent it by post which would have been a fraction of the cost. The odd thing about this, is that 3 days after UPS brought that cluster, another one arrived via UPS & the shipping costs on that one was $51. Of course we refused the second cluster but why the two different shipping charges, & as it turns out.....that second delivered cluster may very well have been the right one!!!! When we had the motorhome tune-up we had the mechanic swap out the defective cluster for the good one which added some labor costs. After picking up the motorhome at the garage I was about half way home when I realized the new odometer cluster.......was the wrong one!!!! Unbeknownst to us, there are 2 clusters for these rigs. A standard one & a computer version one. I wanted the same cluster as had been in the motorhome so it was back on the phone for Kelly to Elkhart, Indiana. More back & forth calls finally led to them shipping us a third cluster & with that, it was back to the garage with the motorhome for hopefully the last swap. Success, the cluster was correct. While at the garage I figured I may as well get the rig's propane tank filled up, but then discovered another problem. Could not get the bin door open to access the propane tank. Well, out came the trusty mechanic again & within a few minutes was able to get the bin door opened from underneath with a wire somehow. Turns out there was a piece of white metal in the lock assembly that was broken. Glad that happened at the garage & not at some Flying J gas bar in the middle of nowhere someplace. And, once again, no way around the problem but to get a new part. And where do we have to get that part of course.........Elkhart, Indiana again. That is where Damon Motorhomes are made so it will be back on the phone this week & here we go again. We are familiar with Elkhart in more ways than one. Last year we had to make a special trip there on our way home to have a damaged screen door replaced. We had traveled & put up with that bent door for 4 months & finally got it replaced one day before arriving home. It just don't figure, do it!! By the way, we ended up shipping 2 odometer clusters (original broken one & incorrect one) back to Actia....C.O.D.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday Sept. 8 Update on this Actia problem. Kelly has been on the phone this morning with UPS & it's looking like we are going to be re-imbursed for some of those shipping charges.) Ok, looks like I've nearly worn out another keyboard here but it's raining this morning so figured it was a good time to catch up the blog. Been a busy morning though. Kelly's working at the Lodge to-day. I'm on the second load of laundry, dishes are done, been to the store for milk & bananas, vacuumed the sunroom, have 2 of about 23 windows cleaned, dogs are fed, forwarded some jokes, took a picture of the wiper blades, made a coffee, & am contemplating making my bed. (that's always a tough contemplation) Might even go & BBQ me up a big bowl of oatmeal. All & all it seems like I'm quite the little multi-taskar this morning & I'm looking forward to my next favorite multi thing soon.........multi relaxing. Hey, I might even catch a few minutes of Sesame Street:))))) Oh ya, passed my 1rst complete physical in 3 years with almost flying colors last week. That cholesterol thingy is always a tough one but I've been working real hard at it. Have dropped from 212 pounds in June to 203 as of yesterday. Totally cut out all fried foods & sweets for starters. Doctor says I'm good for another 50 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first................ And with that, I'd better get back to my morning multi-taskinating. (Had to use a tele-photo lens shot through our living room window for the windshield wipers because it's pouring rain out there. RV television photo shows where the TV folds back to the wall for travel & is secured there. Forgot to add that pic in the previous post. The 2 geese on the pond photos was taken yesterday morning across the road from our place & once again I used a telephoto lens so as not to stampede the geese off the water)

THE "LAST" TELEVISION RENOVATION.....OR ELSE!!!!

Pictures show Bruce lining up the wooden mount. Finished picture shows television fully extended on the mount. It can tilt up or down & swivel from side to side & folds back to the wall for traveling. Click on the pics to make them bigger.

I am hoping to-day was the "LAST" television renovation & I won't have to update this blog again!!!! After mounting the 23" LCD flat screen twice on the end of the kitchen cabinet I still wasn't totally satisfied with the way everything ended up. Afterall, I did all that myself so what could I expect. In an earlier post I stated that if I wanted something done right I have to get someone else to do it. Well, this TV project was no exception & by the time I was done I had so many mounting holes in the end of the kitchen cabinet that it looked like a woodpeckers convention. Had to call in my old buddy Bruce again to save the day. Bruce is retired & has the patience, tools, know how, & interest for little projects like this & was glad to bale me out of the mess I had made......again!! In the process though I did have a bit of a light bulb moment. When you look at the pics it makes things a bit clearer. We had a big hole where the old analog TV came out above the dash so I figured why not take the cabinet door off up behind where the LCD TV is now & use it to fill that hole up front. Bruce framed in a little place for the door to fit & put the cabinet door there. It matches the cabinet doors on either side. I had sawed out a couple of panels at either end of that line of cabinets to access co-axe cables so Bruce simply made a couple of nice hinged doors & covered up the square holed mess I had made. And I still have access to those cables plus some extra storage too. He just has to put a floor in that center cabinet yet. Now, where the cabinet door came off by the end of the kitchen cabinet & behind the new TV, Bruce made a wooden piece that the television mount bracket is now bolted to. On either side of that wood mount he made 2 hinged doors so I can still access that cabinet plus that's where the 3 co-ax cables for the TV are. In the pics you will notice I haven't got the TV wires hooked up yet but maybe to-morrow.
This re-locating the television has been quite an ordeal but had I had the forethought to have Bruce do it in the first place I could have saved myself a lot of time & aggravation. However, I am a man so it is expected of me to be a master plumber, electrician, mechanic, welder, auto body tech, gas fitter, hydraulic specialist, carpenter, roofer, painter, machinist, heavy equipment operator, etc. etc. etc. plus jack of all trades that I haven't thought of. And master of them all too!! Not easy being a man you know, but I keep trying. Now, where is that light bulb installation I've been having trouble with.....................